Starships riding fire across the sky. Heroes and villains exchanging laser fire. Desperate spacers struggling against an alien monstrosity. Vast planetary vistas, flying cities, moonscapes, mad robots, and first encounters. In short: high-action science-fiction adventure that stimulates your sense of wonder. Cepheus Deluxe puts you in the shoes of an adventurer visiting distant stars and encountering the unknown. Whether you are a seasoned player looking for a rules-light game, or a new gamer wanting to experience what science-fiction roleplaying games are all about, Cepheus Deluxe opens your way forward.
The future awaits!
Do you still get that new game tingle? Or even a new expression of a loved game tingle? I have recently tingled. I’m looking for some SF contrast in my GMing as I plan how to wind up some of my Fantasy D20 fun. My focus had been on getting Genesys back to the table with the Twilight Imperium game coming out sometime at the end of this year or probabaly into next. I expect that’ll still happen, and a watch this spaaaace. Now, I have found the recently released Cepheus Deluxe and my head is in a spin.
Traveller is my always. Playing it early in my gaming life, probably ’81, I have played the game ever since. The ultra light base mechanic, the modular family of options, and being able to tinker and build anything, from characters to sectors of space, from critters to starships, has made it a sure fire winner that continues to delight. I have bought and played most versions of the game over the years. Mostly I have gone with the flow, and persevered even through the TNE house system days. I didn’t go T5, but had a passing happiness with T4 despite the errata laden nature of it. It was great to see the Mongoose Publishing version come out. I felt it brought us back to the simplicity of the early game, but with a lot that made it hang together well for a modern audience. Despite myself, I took to Mongoose’s 2e version, and found an even more refined version of the game which seemed to tick some more of my boxes. That was it then.
But no, along comes Cepheus Deluxe (CD), a new iteration of the Open Gaming Licensed version of Traveller, based on the Mongoose 1e version. I must say that if I were to create my own 2d6 version blend I would aspire to create one as very good as CD. There is so much I like about what it has done with the game.
It manages to maintain everything you would expect, whilst simplifying areas of complexity, and creating engaging sub systems for operatic play. It is still very much Traveller with the usual assumptions, the DNA is all there, but I think this comprehensive book delivers an extremely approachable and dynamic Traveller experience:
Some highlights:
- Simplified skill list that dispenses with specialisations
- Pick your skills, roll your events
- PC Talents that give them ‘advantage’ edge in certain signature situations
- A simple PC advancement system (from Sword of Cepheus)
- Task Effect is the total number above the Difficulty – easier and more impactful
- MgT2 quality Autofire rules (always a bugbear of mine)
- Damage factored seperately on two tracks (Stamina and Lifeblood) rather than off attributes – looks good
- Boxed options for cinematic play using Hero Points and other edges
- Rolling for ‘Position’ simplifies and ‘theatre of the minds’ vehicle and starship combat.
- Chase rules
- Starship construction takes us back to simple stats and location based damage effects
As CD propelled me towards actual play, I took a moment to reflect where I should run a game. Third Imperium and associated Charted Space is a default and a superb one. I have also started to look elsewhere. I’ve picked up the rather good looking Cosmos – Age of Sail from Drivethru. There’s a lot going on for not a lot of financial investment. It’s quite possible that I will end up seeing starships sail through the alternate dimension of the Aether, thanks to their Kessler Engines and Schechtman Crystal capacitors. A new expression of the game in an alternative Traveller universe.